Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors is a 1964 Soviet fairy tale film directed by Aleksandr Rou based on a story with the same name by Vitali Gubarev. Both the more
Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors is a 1964 Soviet fairy tale film directed by Aleksandr Rou based on a story with the same name by Vitali Gubarev. Both the surreal story by Vladimir Gubarev, together with the 1964 film, written in a Through The Looking Glass style. Alice-type Soviet girl, named Olya meets her counterpart Yalo, while looking into the mirror. Yalo is an absolute antipode to Olya, for example where Olya is precise and neat, Yalo is absent-minded, careless, etc. The explicit plot relates to Olya learning to see herself differently, but this occurs through an experience in the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors which serves as a mechanism for commenting on the ability of a society to manufacture a false reality. close
Among the inhabitants of the fantastic realm lived a beautiful girl Mavka forest. Gentle voice piped woke her from winter sleep swain Lucas, whom she more
Among the inhabitants of the fantastic realm lived a beautiful girl Mavka forest. Gentle voice piped woke her from winter sleep swain Lucas, whom she dearly loved. Mavka leave their forest friends and go to the people. But then she meets up with her mother and Lukas Killeen - people selfish and heartless ... close
A little girl Assol met a wizard and it has been foretold: "... it will be a fine sunny day when a beautiful ship under scarlet sail comes and the noble more
A little girl Assol met a wizard and it has been foretold: "... it will be a fine sunny day when a beautiful ship under scarlet sail comes and the noble prince will take you away from here. He'll take you to the world of your dreams, where you will be loved and happy." The neighbours told jokes about her, children teased her, but she waited for her prince. She trusted in the miracles and waited. Arthur Gray's rule was "if you can make a miracle, do it!". And he made a miracle for the wonderful romantic girl. close
Ukrainian folk tale. The hero of the story, Kotigoroschko sets off on an arduous journey to find his sister Olenka, who has been kidnapped by an evil more
Ukrainian folk tale. The hero of the story, Kotigoroschko sets off on an arduous journey to find his sister Olenka, who has been kidnapped by an evil dragon. Dangers lurk everywhere. Everywhere the submissive servants of the dragon fight him, but again and again, good-hearted people help the brave young knight survive the adventurous journey: they give him a sword, life-giving water and a flying ship. Finally Kotigoroschko enters the realm of the dragon... close
THE MAGIC WEAVER is a film about an old soldier helps a young boy find his mother, who's been kidnapped to the magical underwater kingdom in a remote Russian lake.
THE MAGIC WEAVER is a film about an old soldier helps a young boy find his mother, who's been kidnapped to the magical underwater kingdom in a remote Russian lake. close
New Year's Eve. The boy Mitya, who loves to fantasize, jokingly tells his comrades at school that his children's toy watch with painted hands is magical more
New Year's Eve. The boy Mitya, who loves to fantasize, jokingly tells his comrades at school that his children's toy watch with painted hands is magical and can stop all the clocks in the world, stop time, or even revive a snowman. close
Based on Finnish mythology, this movie traces the exploits of Lemminkäinen as he woos the fair Annikki and battles the evil witch Louhi. Louhi kidnaps more
Based on Finnish mythology, this movie traces the exploits of Lemminkäinen as he woos the fair Annikki and battles the evil witch Louhi. Louhi kidnaps Annikki to compel her father to build for her a Sampo, a magical device that creates salt, grain, and gold. When Lemminkäinen tries (and fails) to recover the Sampo, Louhi steals the sun, plunging the world into frozen darkness. close
A boy named Volka discovers an ancient vessel on the bottom of a river. When he opens it, a genie emerges from there. He calls himself Hassan Abdurrahman more
A boy named Volka discovers an ancient vessel on the bottom of a river. When he opens it, a genie emerges from there. He calls himself Hassan Abdurrahman ibn Khottab, or in Russian style Khottabych. Grateful Khottabych is ready to fulfill any of Volka's wishes. But it appears that Volka should use the powers of the genie carefully, for they can have undesirable results. close
Paralyzed since birth, Ilya can only watch helplessly as his village is plundered by barbarians. But when a mysterious traveler arrives with a magic elixir more
Paralyzed since birth, Ilya can only watch helplessly as his village is plundered by barbarians. But when a mysterious traveler arrives with a magic elixir that restores him to full health, Ilya begins an adventure to protect the village and the royal family from harm. close
Sadko is based on an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, which was based on a Russian epic tale of the same name. In the old Russian city of Novgorod, the more
Sadko is based on an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, which was based on a Russian epic tale of the same name. In the old Russian city of Novgorod, the merchants are feasting in a gorgeous palace and Sadko is bragging that he can bring to their land a sweet-voiced bird of happiness. They laugh at him, but he is offered help by the Ocean King's daughter, who is mesmerized by Sadko's singing and is in love with him. The hero is destined to visit many lands in his search of the bird. First shown in the USA in 1953 with English subtitles. This entry is for 1962 English-dub by Roger Corman's Filmgroup, which runs about 8 minutes shorter (removes much of the music) than the Russian original (see, Sadko, 1953) close
The son of an obstinate mayor cannot get his father's consent to wed the beautiful Hanna. He receives unexpected assistance from evil, mysterious forces more
The son of an obstinate mayor cannot get his father's consent to wed the beautiful Hanna. He receives unexpected assistance from evil, mysterious forces – Satan, witches, and rusalki – who work together to bring the couple happiness, bringing mayhem and celebration. close
In the fairy kingdom live stepmother, her evil daughters — Anna and Maryana, a limp husband-forester and his daughter from his first marriage — Cinderella. more
In the fairy kingdom live stepmother, her evil daughters — Anna and Maryana, a limp husband-forester and his daughter from his first marriage — Cinderella. The stepmother exploits the poor girl as a housekeeper. With the help of her godmother-fairy, Cinderella gets to the royal ball, where a beautiful and very kind prince falls in love with her. At midnight, the magic ends, and poor Cinderella has to return to her former life. But on the crystal shoe that Cinderella lost while fleeing the palace to the battle of the palace chimes, the prince searches for the bride. close
This remarkable film is based on P. Bazhov’s fairy tale “The Malachite Box”. Little Danila was the most inquisitive apprentice of old Prokopich, a famous more
This remarkable film is based on P. Bazhov’s fairy tale “The Malachite Box”. Little Danila was the most inquisitive apprentice of old Prokopich, a famous stone-carving master. Years passed… Like his teacher, the grown-up Danila has learned to feel the soul of his material and became an expert in handling rare precious stones found in the Ural Mountains. One day he met the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, a fairy who ordered for herself an unusual stone flower. close
All the girls of one of the Moscow houses can tirelessly jump over a skipping rope. But little Lida did: can't learn to jump. Once in a dream a wise elephant more
All the girls of one of the Moscow houses can tirelessly jump over a skipping rope. But little Lida did: can't learn to jump. Once in a dream a wise elephant gives her a piece of advice: to learn how to jump, you must first do a good deed... close
A beautiful maiden, Marya Morevna, gives her prospective husband, the mighty warrior Nikita Kozhemyaka, three riddles to solve before she'll marry him. more
A beautiful maiden, Marya Morevna, gives her prospective husband, the mighty warrior Nikita Kozhemyaka, three riddles to solve before she'll marry him. Before he can tell her the answers, the Russian land is invaded by the armies of Kashchei the Immortal, in whose footsteps death and destruction follow. Marya is abducted by Kashchei, and Nikita finds his home in ashes. Nikita meets a kindly wizard who gives him a cap of darkness. With it, the hero will find a way to save his bride and rout Kashchei. close
Based on a Russian folk tale, Vasilisa Prekrasnaya (Vasilisa the Beautiful) is about a father whose three sons go out to finds themselves brides. Two more
Based on a Russian folk tale, Vasilisa Prekrasnaya (Vasilisa the Beautiful) is about a father whose three sons go out to finds themselves brides. Two of the boys come home with perfectly normal girls, but the youngest brother, Ivanushka, brings home a frog from the marshes. His father finds this most curious, but what he does not know was that the frog was actually a beautiful girl named Vasilisa who was cursed by a magical serpent whom she refused to marry. Now Ivanushka must overcome tremendous obstacles to restore Vasilisa to her true form and free her from the serpent's spell. close
Adapted from four different Russian folk-tales, this early Soviet fantasy film tells the story of Emelya the Fool, who, fishing one day, catches a talking more
Adapted from four different Russian folk-tales, this early Soviet fantasy film tells the story of Emelya the Fool, who, fishing one day, catches a talking pike who pleads for his life and in return grants Emelya wishes for a life spared. close
The momentous film stars Mykola Nademskyi as the grandfather of Tymish (Semen Svashenko), whom he alerts to secret treasure buried in the mountains of more
The momentous film stars Mykola Nademskyi as the grandfather of Tymish (Semen Svashenko), whom he alerts to secret treasure buried in the mountains of Zvenygora – Treasure that rightfully belongs to his homeland. The film wonderfully blends both lyricism and politics and uses its central construct to build a montage praising Ukrainian industrialization, attacking the bourgeoisie, celebrating the beauty of the Ukrainian steppe and retelling ancient folklore. Said Sergei Eisenstein of the film, "As the lights went on, we felt that we had just witnessed a memorable event in the development of the cinema". close
A young man travels to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group with the support of Queen Aelita, who has fallen more
A young man travels to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group with the support of Queen Aelita, who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope. close
While hosting a game of cards one night, Narumov tells his friends a story about his grandmother, a Countess. As a young woman, she had once incurred more
While hosting a game of cards one night, Narumov tells his friends a story about his grandmother, a Countess. As a young woman, she had once incurred an enormous gambling debt, which she was able to erase by learning a secret that guaranteed that she could win by playing her cards in a certain order. One of Narumov's friends, German, has never gambled, but he is intrigued by the story about the Countess and her secret. He soon becomes obsessed with learning this secret from her, and he starts by courting her young ward Lizaveta, hoping to use her to gain access to the Countess. close
